


Descending

by gooberzayn



Series: 000:00:00:00:00:00 (Years, Months, Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds) [2]
Category: EXO (Band), GOT7, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Government Conspiracy, Homophobia, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Temporary Amnesia, conversion therapy, shock therapy, vmin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-31
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-28 12:52:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7640959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gooberzayn/pseuds/gooberzayn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Taehyung never felt like he needed his wrist to tell him he and Jimin were meant for each other, in any capacity.<br/>He didn’t need Jimin to come into their room crying one night about how he loved him. He already knew. He didn’t need Jimin to kiss him because he thought Taehyung didn’t understand what he’d meant. He knew what was happening with them. He didn’t need Jimin to tell him how hard it would be, how he’s asked questions, and how people like them tend to disappear. He knew what would happen if someone found out. He knew, because he was weird, because he was different, because he attracted weird things, because nothing good that happened to him would ever be a normal good, and because he knew he needed Jimin.</p><p> </p><p>***This is a continuation of a series that begins for another fandom (EXO)<br/>This is part 2 of the series that will happen in 3 parts in total. It is up to you if you'd like to read the other two parts, but they will not be vmin focused.***</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lightning Rods

Taehyung had never needed anyone to tell him he was different. His country vernacular stood out amongst the crowd of trainees, everyone knew he was from a farm. He was darker, he was teased a lot; being weird was the best way to keep everyone laughing with him, and not at him. It came natural to him, really. Lots of people thought it was an act for attention, but really it had just become apart of who he was. He didn’t know how to be not-weird. 

 

He didn’t need anyone to tell him he was weird, or different, or “unique” as some put it. He didn’t need anyone to tell him that most things that happened in his life would be unconventional. When he touched Park Jimin’s hand for the first time, and his wrist felt a slight, painful shock he thought to himself  _ Of course this would happen to me _ .  _ I’ve attracted so much weird energy to me my whole life, and now this _ . He ignored it, for months. It was just another weird thing to him. As they became closer, and more in sync ignoring it was all he could really do to keep himself up.

 

They seemed to escalate over time, though.  Some nights when they were drunk Jimin would be half-dancing half-falling into his lap, giggling, and snuggling him close. He would crawl into Jimin’s bed some nights, and pull him as close as he could. The contact making him calm, helping him sleep. Jimin would corner him after dance practice and stare into his eyes like he was searching for answers. On nights when Hoseok was passed out in their living area he would find himself pinned under Jimin, noses bumping, and nails digging into each others’ sides. Kisses became bites, and bites became sucks, and Jimin liked to leave marks on him so that the next day when they pretended nothing happened they had proof under the concealer. It was fun sometimes to pretend like nothing was happening, to act like there was no secret between them, or pretend that this was just an extension of their friendship. Like nothing was happening.

 

Like sometimes after rehearsal he didn’t find himself stashed in a corner, Jimin rubbing against him hard. His teeth biting on his neck, and his hands gripping his shoulders. Or act like sometimes in the dead of night he’d never find himself slipping down to Jimin’s bunk. His mouth would carefull find its way around Jimins dick in seemingly less time than it took to decide that  _ Yes, Hoseok was snoring much too loud for him to be able to hear anything. _ Jimin would cum in his mouth and release soft moans into his pillow. He’d slip back up to his bunk, because the next morning? They were just friends again. They had to just be friends. Taehyung knew that’s all they could really be. He felt like he never needed his wrist to tell him he and Jimin were meant for each other, in any capacity.

 

He didn’t need Jimin to come into their room crying one night about how he loved him. He already knew. He didn’t need Jimin to kiss him because he thought Taehyung didn’t understand what he’d meant. He knew what was happening with them. He didn’t need Jimin to tell him how hard it would be, how he’s asked questions, and how people like them tend to disappear. He knew what would happen if someone found out. He knew, because he was weird, because he was different, because he attracted weird things, because nothing good that happened to him would ever be a normal good that he would disappear and possibly lose Jimin forever if they even made an attempt at this. He also knew that he was willing to risk it, because he knew he needed Jimin.

 

He knew his counter still moving meant there would be another.

 

Taehyung laid his head on the chest of his boyfriend, rubbing slowly on the squishy curve of his tummy, smiling slightly to himself. The sun filtered through the blinds onto their bodies on the soft bed in their hotel room (or rather, jimin’s hotel room) leaving warm strips on their bodies.

 

“I like you with abs or no abs.” His voice was light and airy, filled with sunday laziness and the need to still recover from last night’s show.

“Thank you. Say it in standard Korean.” Jimin ruffled his fingers through Taehyung’s hair.

“No.” he lightly smacked his boyfriend’s tummy. “We’re off today.”

“Fine.” 

Jimin put his arms around Taehyung pulling his face up to his, and kissed him.

 

“You’re so cute in the morning.” Jimin smiled at him.

“You’re cute all day.” Taehyung kissed him again, but it was long, and deep, and he felt tingling in his tummy when Jimin pressed his lips harder onto his. He opened his mouth slightly, and Jimin pressed his tongue inside, licking softly at the coolness inside his mouth, and pulling him closer.

 

Jimin was strong, and his arms were steady, and Taehyung was pliant and soft while he kissed him. It wasn’t always like this, though. Sometimes in a heat of passion they’d clash teeth and rip clothes, biting flesh and digging their fingers into each others’ backs. Usually after a long stint of not being able to hold hands. Sometimes Jimin was soft and quiet and needed arms wrapped around him and to be hugged as tightly as possible. That was usually after many failed attempts at hitting notes. Sometimes,  _ most times,  _ they were both all squish and small and laced fingers and noses touching, and smiles, because they were tired, and they just needed to be near each other.

 

Jimin pulled back and kissed Taehyung’s nose “My TaeTae.” his smile was bright and big, like he was proud the boy across from him was with him. 

Taehyung, in return, kissed his forehead. “My Chim Chim.”

 

Their phones went off at the same time. There was pause, then Jimin’s went off five times in succession.

“What is this?” He moved from Taehyung to grab his phone. Taehyung’s own phone had started to go off with a much longer time lapse between each notification than Jimin’s, but just as many notifications.

“Since when did I subscribe to any EXO content?” Taehyung asked, going through his phone.

“Mine isn’t even EXO, it’s just Kai.”

“Did you subscribe after seeing his dancing?” Taehyung asked, moving back to his spot with his phone in his hand.

“No.”

 

Taehyung peered at the notifications on his phone. “Wait, mine are all Kai, too... it’s all videos...”

“It’s one video.” Jimin said “Why are so many people sending this to us?”

 

Taehyung felt like something else weird was about to happen to him.

“Whatever. I’m too tired to watch EXO stuff.” Jimin turned his phone on silent, and laid back down onto the bed.

“So many people want us to watch this... maybe we should?” Taehyung peered down at the boy who was now laying across his legs.

“Do what you want I’m just tired.” Jimin lifted the thin shirt Taehyung was wearing, and kissed his tummy. “I’m having much more fun down here, anyway.” He continued to place small kisses on Taehyung’s skin while Taehyung pulled up the video.

 

“Hello, this is Kai of Exo.”

Taehyung turned up the volume on his phone. 

“I don’t know what will happen to me after posting this. I’ve heard that some people disappear...”

“What is he talking about?” Jimin sat up

“Shh I’m trying to listen.” Taehyung shushed him and moved his phone to the middle of the faces so that they could both see.

“...I hope that if it is taken down you, my fans will reupload it. Recently, I’ve discovered that my counter does not work the way I’ve been taught that counters work.”

Taehyung’s eyes grew big

“My counter went down for several people! Some of which were boys!”

He felt Jimin squeeze his hand when Kai said that, he moved closer to him.

“One of which was only a friend... a very good friend of mine, and she is very sweet... I don’t know what will happen to me after all of you have watched this. All I know is that I am tired of hiding. There are so many like me... I know some of you are watching this. If we can all band together we can help stop the disappearances... maybe... but they can’t get rid of us all... more will just be born... I just want everyone to... I just don’t want to have to run. I hope this message gets to someone who needs it.”

 

The video stopped. Taehyung looked over to Jimin with big, watery eyes, who returned him with the same look, and they both just started laughing.

“Kai likes boys.” 

“Lots of boys?” Jimin said back “He’s kind of like us!”

“He just... announced it... on the internet...”

“He did!”

 

Taehyung was stuck between excitement, and anxiety, but for the time Jimin’s smile and kisses were keeping him calm, and happy.

“Everyone is going to know now... About people like us...” Jimin smiled at him.

 

* * *

 

Kai’s disappearance was announced the next day. Taehyung was sitting on another hotel bed, Jimin between his legs and both of them on their phones when they both got the notification. 

 

KaiWatch was a twitter they’d both subscribed to, under “fake” twitter handles, of course. It was one of the few outlets, and it wasn’t even an official news source, that was keeping everyone up to date on him. Any news stations that reported on Kai only talked about what a huge disappointment and disgrace he was. They’d had to block it out when they turned on the television and either no one was talking about it, or the people who were talking about it were being terrible. 

 

Kai’s fans however had taken to the internet, and streets. International fans flew out from thousands of miles away to crowd around EXO’s dorm and offer support. There were marches, there were protests, there were “Keep Kai Safe” banners, and everyone assumed that Kai had just been sitting in his room, reflecting, ignoring, being terrified of what might happen to him, but instead, he was gone.

 

“How did he even disappear with all those people watching out for him?” Jimin sounded a little defeated.

“I don’t know...”

 

@KaiWatch: It has been confirmed by SM that after hours of searching Kai has gone missing. SM claims that they have no info on the disappearance.

 

@KaiWatch: Scenes from the SM building headquarters look bleak as fans search for answers for their missing idol. More updates to come.

 

@KaiWatch: Fans have arrived in massive numbers and trampled security guards to enter the SM headquarters looking for Kai.

 

@KaiWatch: We’ve gotten word that one of the fans is the daughter of the architect who designed the building.

 

“Taehyung, are you reading all of this?” Jimin’s voice was small

“Yea, yea...” Jimin put down his own phone to look at Taehyung’s

 

@KaiWatch: The fans are very organized and are going in large groups to specified parts of the building to search for Kai.

 

@KaiWatch: I’ve just been given word that there will be individual periscope broadcasts of each group going to look for Kai.

 

@KaiWatch: periscope.tv/w/khjODJEMR...

 

@KaiWatch: periscope.tv/w/amatTHWSDda...

 

“How many broadcasts are there going to be?” Taehyung asked

“I don’t know... The SM building is very big...” Jimin’s voice trailed off as he clicked one of the links.

 

Taehyung saw a group of fans kick a door down. Inside were seemingly afraid grown ups

“There’s... literally so many fans here...” Taehyung’s voice was barely above a whisper.

“I think... I don’t think they’re all fans...”

 

The fans searched in every nook and cranny that they could before leaving the room.

“Get out of here!” one girl yelled to the adults before they ran out, and the fans locked the door behind them.

 

The group kept searching, relentlessly, with no hope in section. Feverishly panting the girl holding the camera said “As you can see Jongin is not in this section of the building. We will now go help other fans who are searching and keep police at bay. Hopefully someone will find him.”

 

@KaiWatch: The CEO has fled the building alone. No signs of Kai in the SM building have been found yet with 70% confirmed searched.

 

Taehyung and Jimin waited, going through several different broadcasts one by one until it was confirmed that Kai was nowhere to be found inside the SM headquarters.

 

There was a hard knock on their door.

 

@KaiWatch: 100% of the building confirmed searched with Kai nowhere to be found

 

Jimin got up from the bed and Taehyung watched him as he looked through the peephole, looked back at him, and then opened the door.

 

“Erica?” Taehyung sat up on the bed.

“Don’t look so surprised.”

 

All three of their phones buzzed at the same time.

 

@KaiWatch: Important documents concerning the disappearance of soulmates of SM idols have been found and will be released soon.

@KaiWatch: The SM building headquarters is burning.

 

“Burning?” Taehyung looked over toward Jimin who shook his head, confused in response.

 

@KaiWatch: The fans have decided to burn the building in order to insure that Kai cannot be moved there after their search.

 

@KaiWatch: The fans made sure that all employees were cleared from every place of the building before setting it on fire.

 

@KaiWatch: Information regarding the missing idols’ soulmates seems to point toward pay off and relocation. No deaths, no kidnappings.

 

Erica sighed “This is ridiculous.” She sat down on the bed next to Taehyung.

“Why are you here?” He looked up at her. He really hadn’t seen her in a while, and Erica never came to see them alone.

“Logan is missing...” Her voice was weak

“What.” Jimin pounced on the bed next to her. “How? Where did she go?”

“She was on her way over to see Kai right after he... I think they took her...”

Taehyung closed his eyes and rubbed his eyebrows “...I thought if anyone was taken away from me it’d be Jimin... not her...”

Jimin pushed his face into the pillows on his bed. His breathing began to deepen. Taehyung couldn’t tell for sure what he was doing, but he was pretty sure he was crying.

 

Erica looked over at him, sadness covering her face. “You two have got to get back to Korea...”

“Why?”

“Because the fans are going to burn down everything, and you can’t be stuck in a country where you have no resources, and can’t speak the language... Logan would kill me if I let you two stay here...”

“We have concerts to do here. We have contracts we can’t just leave.” Taehyung felt a little numb, and powerless.

“Bighit is already worried about you. Their HQ might be burned down next if fans suspect this was done to hurt SM.”

“How do you know that?”

“I talked to Jungkook before I came here, but I had to tell you what happened to Logan in person... if someone reads your texts or something like that-”

“I know.” He sighed covering his face with his hands. He felt Erica wipe away a few big tears that trailed down his face.

“Don’t worry... we’ll get her back...” her voice was shaky

“We don’t even know if she’s-”

“Don’t say that. We’ll get her back.”

  
  


Taehyung felt numb as they flew to their home country in a small, private plan. Provided by Erica, of course, who wanted them to get back as quickly, and as safely as possible.

 

“How are we supposed to get her back?” Jimin asked quietly as they sat away from the other members and staff. The words hit Taehyung softly, like his brain was too thick with anxiety and dread for him to be able to comprehend them. He waited for a while before looking at Jimin, and then shrugging.

Jimin placed his forehead on Taehyung’s shoulder. “We have to get her back, Taehyung... we have to...”

 

Taehyung mindlessly rubbed at the nape of Jimin’s neck, still not responding. He didn’t know what to say.

* * *

  
  


Taehyung spotted Logan first in a crowd in a club in Korea. He’d seen on the television that ‘Best Friends and design-model duo Erica and Logan have decided to spend some time in Korea for their current stay-cation.’

He didn’t think he’d ever see either of them out, though.

 

He was drunk, but he noticed that she was a good dancer. She seemed to get excited when Dope started to blast through the speakers. She looked like she was mouthing some of the words. Despite Jimin being in front of him he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of Logan.

“Just go talk to her, then. I don’t care.” Jimin’s voice was light, he’d prepared for this.

 

Taehyung walked over to her and made big gestures with his arms so that he could get her attention before touching her. She looked at him, her eyes were hooded and her expression was big and smiley. He took a deep breath in and waved “Hi!”

Logan pointed to her ears, and mouthed  _ I can’t hear you. _

 

Her face made an exaggerated look of sadness, and she motioned for him to come closer, perching her ear up toward his mouth.

“Hi, I’m Taehyung.” She pulled back and looked up at him, holding her hand out for him to shake.

He grabbed her hand, and immediately felt a jolt of pain. She stepped in close, half resting her chin on his shoulder and said “I think we’re soulmates” into his ear.

 

She was breathtaking. Everything about her; her skin, her eyes, her nose, her lips, her scent, the raspiness of her voice. He felt like he had been waiting to be this completely intoxicated by a person; someone he couldn’t ignore, someone he had to stay this close to, or she might be a dream.

 

She lead him to the VIP lounge, and when they got there, they didn’t even say anything to one another. They just stared, softly touching open patches of skin, rubbing their noses together, smiling. Taehyung felt like she was a fantasy.

 

His phone buzzed. “Ah.. Jiminnie...”

“Who is Jiminnie?” her voice was still light

“Jimin... my friend he’s... in my group...” He knew he couldn’t tell her that Jimin was also his soulmate. Weird counters don’t last too long after discovery. “He’ll be looking for me...”

“Tell him to join us!” He was relieved that she was so relaxed about this.

 

Before long Jimin entered the lounge. He sat down next to Logan, who was now between him and Taehyung.

 

Taehyung noticed that Jimin couldn’t stop staring at her.

“You’re really pretty.” were the first words he said, with a big smile.

“I hope your friend here thinks so, too, cause we just discovered we’re meant for each other.”

Jimin gave Taehyung a worried look.

“That sounds great!” 

Logan reached over to touch Jimin’s shoulder and Taehyung noticed both of them wince back in pain.

“Wait...” Jimin looked at her, then pulled the sleeve back on his shirt. “I thought you said...”

 

Logan’s eyes widened. “Oh, no... fuck, no. I... my counter is weird please don’t tell anyone about this I don’t want-”

“No! No! Shh it’s okay...” Taehyung grabbed both of her hands. “Mine... too... and Jimin’s...”

“I never thought it’d be the same person... let alone a girl.” Jimin looked over to him.

She looked from Taehyung to Jimin, then back to Taehyung, and back to Jimin.

“You two are...”

“Please don’t tell!” Jimin cried.

“No! No! I would never!”

* * *

  
  


They had been home for three days with no leads on Logan, no guaranteed safety for themselves, and somehow even more people missing.

 

@KaiWatch: It has been reported that after Jackson Wang’s reveal he, too, has gone missing despite fan attempts to keep him safe. Follow @JacksonWatch for more details.

 

“This is getting out of control.” Taehyung said, sitting on the floor of Erica’s large hotel suite. “People just can’t keep disappearing!”

“People are going to keep disappearing until we find out where they’re going...” Erica’s voice was stern.

“Why haven’t we found that out yet?” He got louder

“Listen. Getting upset at me is not going to help find her or Kai or anyone else for that matter. I can’t treat this like the President treated the Flint water crisis. I can’t just throw money at this and expect it to go away, and believe me I’ve tried. This takes resources, and man-power, and information that may very well be kept under lockdown of several government facilities none of which am I sanctioned to be in. I am a fashion designer not a fucking detective!”

“...I’m... sorry I just...”

“I want her back, too...” 

 

@JacksonWatch: JYP Headquarters has just burned down as the search for Jackson proves futile.

 

@JacksonWatch: Notice posted from the South Korean Government.

 

@JacksonWatch: All idols are to be held without internet connection by their respective teams starting at 0:00 hours tonight.

 

“What? They can’t do that. That’s in six hours...” Jimin shoved his phone in Taehyung’s face.

“They can, and they will. This isn’t just happening in South Korea. Celebrities are revealing themselves all over the world, and it’s creating chaos. People are disappearing and now everyone knows why.”

“But-”

“I can hide you.” Erica said without any hesitation.

“You can’t. They know we’re friends with you. You’ll be detained, too.” Jimin’s voice was high and scratchy and Taehyung noticed that he seemed to always quickly breakdown when something like this happened.

“I can still try.” 

“No... the only people who have since been safe from any of this are the fans... they just keep multiplying.. Getting angrier...”   
“So, we just go... with our fans...” Jimin asked.

“No, I’m not saying that I’m just saying that they’re the only people who seem safe... safer than Erica that’s for sure.”

 

“Then what do we do, Tae?” Taehyung looked at Jimin, and saw that he had his hands in his hair, his eyes bugged out, and were red, and watery, he was shaking. 

“Chim...” He reached his hand out for Jimin to grab, and pulled him in when he did. “I’m not going to let them take you away from me... okay?”

 

Jimin nodded, and took a deep breath.

“So, what do we do?”

* * *

  
  


“Hello, I am Taehyung and this is Jimin. The location is on, fans, if you want to come find us do it very soon, but we will also tell you. We are at the Park Hyatt in Seoul!  Ah! Hopefully you will be joining us soon. We are very afraid to be detained, and do not think it is fair that this is happening.” Taehyung’s voice was shaky.

Jimin continued “Taehyung and I... are soulmates... we knew it from a very long time ago... when we first met... When we found out about the detention we thought that maybe we would run... maybe we would go there, and sit, and be powerless while people like us continue to disappear...”

“We don’t want any special treatment we just want... to be safe.. If we disappear then who knows what might happen to us... Please, fans, keep us safe if you can...”

  
  


@JacksonWatch: Follow @VMinWatch for more updates. periscope.tv/w/qmlPASOKJ... 

 

@VMinWatch: Fans have stormed the hotel, and are doing what seems like battling policemen for the idols.

 

@VMinWatch: The fans appear to have control over the situation. Refusing to let the boys go. Jimin has passed out.

 

@VMinWatch: The boys have now been taken by policemen. Both are unconscious.

 

@VMinWatch: Fans followed the policemen to watch appears to be a giant government facility.

 

@VMinWatch: It has been confirmed that these people will shoot fans to keep them away. 

 

@VMinWatch: If you are within reach of the facility right now, fan numbers are low. Retreat to a safe place.

 

@VMinWatch: Five fans confirmed dead at the scene. Eleven confirmed injured.

* * *

  
  


Taehyung woke up in a dark room, way too dark for him to see anything. The last thing he remembered was a fan grabbing his arm. 

“Chim?” His breathing was shallow

“ _Jimin?_ ” He felt around the room for a wall, a bump, another person, anything, really, that might signify to him that he wasn’t alone.

“Tae?” Jimin’s voice was flat and quiet “Tae.. where are you? I can’t see anything.”   
“I think it’s just really dark in here... where are you?”

“I don’t know.. My leg hurts a lot...”

“Just keep talking, I’ll find you.”

“Talking about what?”

“Sing House of Cards.”   
“Okay...” Jimin started singing and Taehyung found him, and pulled him onto his lap.

“So, I’m gonna guess the fans didn’t get us?” Taehyung sighed

“I don’t think so...”


	2. White Noise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is the end of the fic as stated before. This is part of a series and it will be concluded in the next fandom story.

Logan had a fancy air about her. Taehyung was sure she might have even been royalty in a past life, but it was balanced by how she seemed to never be off-put by anything that wasn't fancy. Whenever she invited him (or Jimin, or both of them) out he could tell she was used to expensive things. Thousand dollar bottles of champagne, twenty-five thousand dollar bottles of wine, food that was too small to be so expensive, desserts dusted with gold eaten on the finest dishes and served with the finest cutlery. Never, though, did she turn her face away when he snuck them to a hole in the wall restaurant and ordered cheap spicy rice cakes. She only laughed when the spices seemed too much for him and he had to drink milk to calm it down. She didn't frown whenever she found slight rips in his jumpers from being worn too much, just got him a new one and told him he didn't have to be ashamed if he needed to ask her for something. When he told her his drama salary was the most money he'd ever gotten for his work, even if the price paled in comparison to any money Erica had ever made, she simply smiled and told him how happy she was for him, and it was _genuine._ She said she'd grown up poorer than he could probably imagine, and she was right. He couldn't imagine her not rolling French words off her tongue and ordering food that fit his palette so well. He couldn't imagine her not wearing expensive designer shoes, and bathrobes that cost much more than the three dollar fake chains he'd worn in music videos. He couldn’t imagine her being anything other than this well-adjusted to being so wealthy.  People who grow up poor turn into assholes along the way. People who grow up rich are born assholes. He was a dumb boy and in such was already on his way to being a complete asshole even with less than half of her fortune. She had to be somewhere in between, like her soul was so afraid of being anything but kind. It softened him. He loved it.

She was a model, definitely. No one would ever look at her and doubt that. She was darker than him, and always telling him not to apologize for his skin. A thing he'd learned to do, because he realized it made her upset.

 

“If you feel that way about yourself, then what must you think of me?”

“I... okay but you're literally perfect.”

“You're fine how you are don't apologize for it... people should be apologizing for making you feel bad for it.”

 

Despite the colorism ingrained in his psyche he'd learned to hold back, because he didn't want her to think he thought anything was wrong with her. He didn't; he just thought that way about himself. He was trying to change it, though.

 

He sat on her bed in her plush hotel room as she sat in front of the mirror taking off her makeup. His eyes flit from her to the television to the ceiling to the numb, cold feeling in his hands. Logan made him nervous. A feeling he'd never really experienced with Jimin before. He watched as she stood up from her chair wearing one of those big fancy robes that dragged across the floor and had feather trimming around the sleeves and hem. She was only wearing lingerie underneath. She wasn't trying to be sexy, just comfortable.

 

“Taehyung,” she spoke in broken Korean, and he spoke in broken English. They often found understanding in the middle with both being patient. They knew that if history had been more kind that neither of them would know at least one of the languages they shared. But perhaps if history had been more kind they also wouldn't be here. He couldn't imagine a reality without her, though, now that she was here.

 

“Why do you seem so nervous?” she climbed into the bed softly, timidly moving toward him as if she was preparing to stop whenever he asked. He didn't, though. He just opened his arms, and welcomed her. She sat happily on his lap, resting her head on his chest.

 

“You're in your underwear...” He liked this better. He couldn't really look at her body, just rest his cheek on her head and close his eyes.

 

“Ah... and you're nervous? Most guys tend to get excited...”

 

“It's just weird I... you make me nervous...”

She looked up at him

“Don't be nervous, just kiss me.”

 

And the small space between them was closed. Logan’s lips softly moving with his as he cupped her face between his hands, pulling her closer.

 

She pulled back, breathless, and warm

“You've got to go now.”

“What?”

“Wake up, Tae.”

“...what?”

“Wake up.” and she kissed him again, her weight turning into something slightly heavier on his body, the soft headboard turning cold and stiff behind him. He shuddered when he opened his eyes.

 

“You weren't asleep for very long.” Jimin said from his lap.

“I... had a dream... a memory, really...”

“About what?”

“Logan...”

 

It was still pitch black.

“How long was I asleep?”

“I sang through our last album only one time.”

 

"Has anyone come?" Taehyung asked, feeling a little shaky  
Jimin sighed releasing all his weight. "No. I'm not sure if they're gonna just leave us here to rot or take us somewhere else... I don't know what would be worse..."   
Taehyung could tell that between all the songs Jimin had been thinking deeply about both alternatives.   
He wrapped his arms around Jimin, letting the otherwise cold room escape him for a moment.   
"At least I'm with you." And he kissed his hair.   
  
Jimin hummed a little and tilted his head up.   
"You're awake now at least." He kissed him.   
  
Jimin's lips were cold and wanting, like he'd missed him while he was asleep.   
  
They only broke away when they heard a door opening in front of them, letting in an almost blinding light. Taehyung hid his face behind Jimin who buried his face into his shoulder. Both of them trying to spare their eyes the pain.   
  
Two men walked in, their strides were strong. One grabbed Jimin off of him and he winced in pain.   
  
"Be careful, he's hurt!" Taehyung yelled   
  
The second man grabbed him by his collar, standing him up. His face was cold and stern   
"I don't give a fuck about you or that other homo over there."   
He grabbed at his arm roughly and all but dragged him out of the room.   
  
Everything happened so fast. Taehyung didn't see it so much as feel it... all of it was a blur. He felt the tight squeeze on his arm, he felt, no,  _he knew_ Jimin was being pulled away from him. He saw other people... so many people so many rooms all looking on as yet another duo was captured. He felt the cold sting of the floor against his bones as he was pushed into his room.   
He looked around. A single light, a simple bathroom; one shower one toilet. A single bed. A small change of gray clothes folded on his bed.   
  
"Change before bed."   
  
The door was slammed.   
  
How was he going to get out of this?   


He awoke the next morning to an alarm. The sanctity of his dreams being invaded by harsh beeping and someone coming into the room and roughly pulling him off his bed.   
  
"Shit. Okay I get it. I know how to fucking walk." He pulled himself back. The man eyed him, and continued walking. Taehyung followed.   
  
They stopped in front of what seemed like a small cubicle.   
  
"This is your room. You'll go here every morning. Three hours."   
  
He nodded in response and walked into the room after the man. The door shut behind them. The man gestured toward a chair, and Taehyung sat down in it. There were cuffs on the chairs arms, and when Taehyung set his arms in them, they closed. The man resigned himself to an indistinct corner in the back of the room.   
  
A large screen projected in front of him. A montage of him and Jimin played. It reminded him of the fan videos that were made for their "friendship" and he wondered if any of these were taken directly from youtube. Just as he started to relax he felt a shock on his arm. He jolted from the chair but he was stuck; his arms caught by the cuffs.   
  
It continued like that in no particular time difference. Sometimes the shocks were one right after another. Sometimes they were heavily delayed but he could always count on one to come. Three hours. Every image probably known to man of him and Jimin together resulted in a shock.   
  
When he was released he looked down at his wrists. They were red and bruised, and he felt dazed and tired.   
  
He stumbled into a big room, following all of the other guests? inmates? captives? It was big like a lounge area. His vision was blurred and dazed, adjusting from the one light on the projector to the being surrounded by it.   
He looked frantically around the room, and took it in, a cafeteria, a few couches, some old movie playing, the same grey ass color as his clothes painted on the walls, some circular dining tables. They were meant to relax here after three hours of perverse ABA torture every morning. Taehyung felt sick.   
  
He looked to the far back of the room, and wasn't quite sure what he saw in front of him was real. His blinked more than a few times to make sure it _was_ real. She was cut off in the middle. So, he couldn't see exactly what was happening with her other half. He could if he got closer, and he did. He walked first, and then ran.   
  
"Logan?"   
  
He put his hand on the glass. She was strapped to a chair just like he was, but she was panting. Her shocks seemed more constant and painful.   
  
He banged on the glass "Logan!" He felt tears welling up in his eyes and a stiff painful lump in his throat.   
He felt two arms pull him back.   
  
"Calm down... there's nothing we can do..."   
He turned around, expecting to see Jimin pulling him back, but he was instead greeted by a melancholy Kai.   
  
"Why do they have her in there?" He didn't bother asking Kai about the reason he was pulling him back instead of Jimin. He didn't even care, really he already knew how Kai got here.   
"She's..." Kai looked over to her, his expression still sad. He took a deep breath.   
"She's what?"   
"She's... she's... they're using her to make an example... she's not Korean and there are stereotypes... you know..." Kai was stammering, now and it was frustrating.   
"What? There are what?"   
"They think people like her can withstand larger amounts of pain." It looked like it physically hurt Kai to say it, and it physically hurt Taehyung to have to hear it.   
He blinked, a few more tears falling down his face. "...What?"   
"Please don't make me repeat it... please tell me you heard me the first time."   
He nodded, and Kai looked back over to her.   
"She's my best friend I... she shouldn't have been caught up in all of this she was just coming to make sure I was okay..."   
"She's... my girlfriend... when do they?"   
"It should only be a few minutes from now, but we're not going to see her."   
"Why?"   
"She's going over to the other half... there's two sides. They send her over to one side each day, and she was with us yesterday. I made sure she ate, and drank water but... it's just to scare us... so we see what we'd become if we don't change..."   
"Other side?"   
"Yea she'll... the other side of this wall." Kai pointed behind him  
"Jimin..." And then he thought _at least she'll be with Jimin. He'll take care of her_   
  
Kai sighed "Talk to the girls here... make friends... being seen with girls makes them easier on you..."   
  
Taehyung nodded.   
  
He sat against the glass and waited for them to remove Logan, and then stayed put. He didn't feel like eating even though he knew he should.   
  
"Hey..." a quiet voice was speaking to him through the blaring of his head. A girl sat down in front of him.   
  
Talk to the girls here they'll go easier on you.   
  
He almost felt sick. Sure, he could talk to girls, but why should he? To keep up the facade that he was somehow becoming more heterosexual for people who were already torturing him for not being heterosexual? Clearly they already knew. That's why he was here, right? That's why he was sitting here, too, right? The only remnants of Logan being Kai’s sad presence that hadn't seemed to quite leave him and an empty glass box. Xenophobia and the transatlantic slave trade never seemed to hit him so hard.   
But the girl sounded nice, and quiet, a tether to whatever piece of the world he was still trying to hold on to.   
  
"You should eat or it will make tomorrow worse."   
She held out some bread for him. He blinked at her slowly.

"Don't worry I'm not trying to.... well, we're all here for the same reason aren't we?" She's looked over to the wall that was dividing him from Jimin and Logan, and apparently this girl from someone.  
He slowly took the bread from her hands as she turned back to him.   
"It's just nice to have friends around here... and we can only be friends with people who are... you know..."   
  
He nodded and took a bite of the bread. Surprised at how it was still warm and actually tasted good.   
  
"The food here is decent despite everything else... I'm Juseon." He felt a little warmer around her like she was too small to be here and he had to pretend he was okay just so that she wouldn't lose hope.   
  
  
He smiled at her, delicately. She returned it. Friends always made things easier.   
  
They stayed in the lounge area for hours. He never realized how boring everything was without the internet, and with absolutely nothing to do. He wondered if this was another form of torture. The other people around him seemed to all make friends in pairs, but switch around. Juseon had left him a little while ago which relieved him to an extent. He didn't feel like making friends at the moment.

 

At some point after what seemed like forever they sent them back to their rooms. A mixture of social and solitary torture. He couldn't focus on it, though. He didn't feel lonely he just felt sad. Seeing Logan being tortured in a box, being there, having Jimin pulled away from him he felt more powerless than he ever did when he was small and being made fun of. Maybe if he and Jimin had just gone to be detained like the rest of the idols they wouldn't be here. His chest felt heavy under him as he laid on his bed on his tummy, tears falling slowly down his face as he rested his chin on his pillow. The grey of the room seemed to seep into him filling him up and flowing out of his body. His energy was completely that; grey, dull, numb. At some point he was brought food, and at another point he fell asleep.   


The next day followed the same routine. The shocks were their same inconsistent pace. The same images of he and Jimin were shown in front of him. More bruising on his wrists.

 

He sat below the big glass box next to Kai who waited with food and water. When Logan finally stumbled out, she fell into Kai’s arms. Her breath was ragged and sharp. The bruises on her wrists seemed to slowly creep down her hands until they disappeared at her fingertips. Kai nestled her, slowly giving her water. She didn't seem to notice much else.

 

“How are you?” Kai's voice was quiet as he wiped tears that seemed to flow from her independently of whatever her mind was processing.

She panted “Never better.” and adjusted herself in his lap resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

 

Taehyung felt like he couldn't move. The world had slowed down when Logan stumbled out of her cell. His limbs went stiff and he could feel hot tears running down his face, but he couldn't stop them. He couldn't move, he couldn't wipe the tears away, he couldn't make noise, and he couldn't look at her knowing full well why this was happening to her and feel nothing but overwhelming guilt.

 

She blinked quickly and then opened her eyes, peering at him. A soft smile crept over her lips.

 

“Don't cry, Taehyung. Come here.” His body seemed to move without him, shuffling him over to her clumsily and all but yanking her out of Kai’s arms. He pressed their foreheads together. It seemed like the only thing he could do to feel was get closer to her, synapses finally firing in his brain to let him experience her.

“Jimin told me you were here.” her voice was shaky “Don't cry, love. I'm okay.”

 

“I'll leave you two alone, but... make sure she eats...” Kai slid a bowl over to him. He nodded in response, and Kai slowly left. He knew he'd be watching them from where ever he settled in the room.

 

Logan lifted her hands and placed them softly in his hair. “I missed you... I hoped you two would be okay.”

He rubbed their noses together. “We thought you were dead, Lo...”

She breathed out. “Not yet.”

He kissed her cheek, and pulled her in closer.

“Never.”

 

She was still so warm despite the coldness of the circumstances.

At some point he remembered that he was supposed to make sure she ate. He slowly fed her the contents of the bowl. She was quiet when she ate, clinging onto his shoulders lightly. She seemed so relaxed with him.

“How is the world or... how was the world before you got here?”

“...they wanted to detain all idols with no Internet so.... I feel like it would've been the same as if I were here... minus the shock therapy.”

“Maybe you should've gotten detained, then.”

“We tried... to get saved... the fans burned down SM to look for Kai... we thought they would be able to keep us safe but.... I don't know what happened I passed out in the shuffle but....yea... and at least I know you're alive now...”

“You could do without the shocks, though... trust me...”

He rested his cheek on top of her head. If he tried really hard he could pretend that they were back in her hotel room, him holding her close while the sun filtered through the curtains. Keeping her safe and warm and protected, and keeping her secret. She felt so small beneath him where she usually felt so present, so large. His only response was to squeeze her tighter, close his eyes tighter, try to pretend that they weren't there.

“Jimin said to tell you his leg is fine.”

“What?”

“The doctors checked his leg, and he said to tell you that he's fine... the guards here are mean on purpose but they don't want any of you to die... not the idols, anyway....”

“You're  famous, too.”

“But I'm still...” She sighed “he just wanted you to know he was okay.”

“Okay. Tell him tomorrow that I'm okay, too.”

“I will.”

As they were sitting Taehyung noticed that all of the girls on his side of the facility avoided Logan. Gender pairings aside they still all talked to one another at least briefly, especially in groups. He'd expected them to come over and offer her words of encouragement. Juseon waved at him, but didn't come near him. The girls would look at her in confusion and possibly sadness. He didn't know if they disliked her or just felt bad for her. He felt sick when one of them put some food on a plate, gave it to a boy, and then he came over and passed it to him.

“It's for her.”

He didn't like people avoiding her pain.

 

“Logan, do you want to eat some more?”

She rustled, nodding under him.

“Okay.”

He fed her. Her chewing was slow and deliberate.

“Erica is looking for you.” She winced

“Erica?”

“Yea she's... she came and got us when you went missing.”

She relaxed under him.

“Okay.”

“She is going to come for you. She'd never leave you behind.”

“...okay...”

They sat there for the rest of their time in mostly silence. Logan fell asleep a few times, waking only to nestle closer to him whenever she remembered it was him who was holding her. He was happy he could give her a little peace.

Going back to his room he felt a little better... only a little. He was still left without Jimin or Logan, and he was still being held prisoner, but being able to see one of them helped him feel a little better.

 

* * *

 

 

”Do you remember the very first night we met?”

“How could I forget a night like that?”

It was the second day he'd gotten to see Logan.

“I knew my counter was going down soon and I was hoping it was you, because I literally could not keep my eyes off of you.”

“And I... was drunk. Completely shit faced. I remember the next morning I was hoping you were cuter than I'd remembered. And Jimin! He was so sweet.” She laughed and rubbed his cheek with her thumb. “That was so much fun.”

“It was! We never thought our counters would go down for the same person, honestly.”

“Amazing. When I saw him yesterday he talked about how much he missed you. He said it's hard for him to sleep if he's not close to you...”

“That is pretty true... he's snuck into my bunk on more than one occasion. He doesn't like for me to be far away from him most nights.”

“I know... but he's been doing okay. His leg is alright and he smiles whenever he sees me. The circumstances suck but... I did miss you two.”

“We missed you, too.”

  
The days staying in the facility seemed to drag together. They were long and tedious and filled with boredom. On the days where Logan wasn't with him Juseon and other girls would talk to him, and help him make friends. On the days where Logan was with him she would tell him something about Jimin. Apparently he had been making her laugh by dancing to songs. Taehyung countered by singing her songs in silly voices. The humor seemed to help pass the time, and make her feel better.   
  
He'd stopped counting the days he was there because it was so hard to focus when there's no sunlight, and when you have the same routine. It all seemed to blur together into one long day with several naps. Most of which were peppered with Logan’s screams, and a frightful Jimin. Him being too far away from either of them to do anything, and both of them looking at him with droopy eyes and bursting hearts.   
  
The torture seemed to evolve as well, moving from pictures of him and Jimin to just Jimin. He knew he had to fight his brain for being so scared.   
They'd began to intersperse the shocks of seeing Jimin with rewards to pictures of girls. A girl would be shown, no shock, a nice pastry would be handed to him. Sometimes it would be a chocolate, sometimes the chair would get fuzzy and comfortable and warm. For every nice thing given to him when he was shown a girl, though, a shock was given whenever he was shown a picture of Jimin. He tried to let his eyes gloss over and ignore it sometimes.   
  
Logan, upon being released to his side one day, stumbled out chanting "boy, boy, boy, boy" under her breath   
  
She held her head and staggered across the floor. Taehyung somehow got to her before Kai did, and she fell into his arms, looking up at him. Well, it seemed as if she was looking at him. There was a gloss, a static behind her eyes.   
  
"Boy?"   
"Taehyung."   
"Tae." And she relaxed, letting herself fall fully in his arms after confirming who he was.   
  
He picked her up and carried her over to one of the lounge sofas.   
"Lo... are you okay?"   
She shut her eyes tight.   
"Yes... yes I'm okay... Jimin said... I can't... I" when she opened her eyes she looked down darting her pupils as if she was searching for something.   
"It's okay if you don't remember."   
  
Kai came to sit next to him.   
"Logan, it's okay. Try eating something."   
Kai had cut up her meat so small, like he was cutting it up for a baby. He fed her, and she seemed to relax, but the oncoming days only seemed to thicken the static behind her eyes. 

* * *

 

"Did Jimin say something yesterday?" He asked one day  
"Jimin?"   
"Chim, Logan."   
"No he... I don't remember.."   
He sighed "It's okay, it's okay."   
"Was I supposed to remember?"   
"No, it's okay." He rubbed circles into her back "It's okay." 

* * *

 

"Do you remember when me, you, and Chim went roller skating?"  
She shook her head "No... tell me..."   
"We went, the three of us, on one of our days off. You had it closed down for the day and you brought in fancy food for us. Jimin-"   
"Jimin?"   
"Chim... for all his balance he couldn't get it right at first but you helped him... he must have fell like 50 times. You didn't fall, though. You did really good you were dancing on the skates! It was the first date with all three of us. You said before that you wanted to get to know us individually, not as a unit, but that time it was all three of us."   
"That sounds like fun."   
He pulled her in a little tighter. "It was. It was so much fun."   
"I can't remember it... is that okay?"   
"Yea, it's fine." He choked out after a few seconds. "It was a really, really long time ago. Anyone would forget." He lied. It was long ago, but not long enough that she would've forgotten under normal circumstances.   
"Do you remember my name?" He laced their fingers together.   
"Tae."   
"Taehyung."   
"Taehyung." She spoke slowly. "I'll remember tomorrow."

He knew she wouldn't. 

"I know you will."  


* * *

  
  
"Tae."   
"Taehyung."   
"Taehyung. Can you tell me another story?"   
"Of course. One time you and Jimin took care of me while I was sick."   
"Who is Jimin?"   
"Chim, Logan..." He tilted her head up to look in her eyes. More static. "Try to remember" his voice was soft "you saw him yesterday."   
She nodded. "Yea... I don't know how I forgot..."   
"It's okay. People forget sometimes."

“Did he dance for you yesterday?”

“No, he...” She sighed “I don't know. I just saw him. I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize it's okay.”  
"Do you remember who I am?"   
"You're... a boy... who tells me stories..."   
"I'm your boyfriend, Logan. I'm telling you memories."   
"That sounds nice." He let out a light chuckle.   
"I'd hope so. Try to remember, okay? Try not to forget me."

“I'll try I promise.”  


* * *

 

Logan had all but forgotten Kai. She didn't remember how they met or really any memories surrounding him, but she remembered that he was her friend. She trusted him more than Taehyung, and it hurt. This was part of the plan, he guessed. Shock their brains into erasing all memories of their soulmates, and make them afraid of anyone of the same gender to prevent this happening again. It made him sick. 

 

  
One day by random act of accidental miracle or less likely on purpose due to their guilt, they let her out early. Before even he got out. He walked into the lounge room and there she was already standing outside her torture room with tears streaming down her face and her fingers dug into her hair. He ran to her, and she didn't stumble, but she was trembling.   
  
"Logan." She looked up at him with wild eyes, somehow a little less static-y than the last time he had seen her.   
"Taehyung..."   
"You remember my whole name."   
"Jimin asked me... he asked me not to forget... why do I keep forgetting?" She looked scared.   
"It's okay people forget sometimes." He approached her, holding out his hand for her. After she placed her hand in his he lead her to sit down with him.   
"No, I'm... why do they do this to me?" She held out her wrist  for him to inspect. "Did I do something bad? I'm sorry I can't remember... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't mean to."   
"It's okay, Logan. You're not here because you did something bad... you're here because some very bad people got you, and you're going to get out very soon, I promise. Erica will come for you."   
"I don't..." She looked down without finishing her statement, seemingly defeated by her own lack of memory.   
"It's okay if you don't remember."   
She nodded "okay." 

* * *

 

  
There was a loud crack over the sound system. The power in the lounge went out, and surged back on. When he looked over to Logan the door of her box was open. Kai walked up to it and peered inside.   
  
"Taehyung."   
He sat up, following Kai inside the box. Her body was limp in the chair, her head hanging down and her hair covering her face. She seemed to be only supported by the chair that was sitting under her.   
  
"Taehyung," Kai motioned toward the door on the other side and saw eyes peaking in. "Go get Jimin. I'll get Logan."   
"Wait, is she?"   
Kai picked her up from the chair   
"She's going to be okay don't worry... but go I don't think we have much time."   
"Okay." And before he could really process it his legs were taking him to the other side of the wall. He hadn't noticed the guard laying in the corner before. Kai was very close behind him, despite carrying Logan.   
  
The scene in the other side of the wall was chaos. Guards fighting, an alarm started to blare, people in black clothing going head to head with them. Shooting them, even. Through depths of the chaos he found clarity. That is, he found _Jimin_ wondering aimlessly through the crowd.   
  
"Jimin!" Jimin whipped around to look at him. He didn't seem to notice anything past Taehyung who ran to him and pulled him in.   
"Where do we go?"   
"I'm not sure... the power went out and people just started fighting."   
"This way. Toward the door." Kai walked ahead of them, and they followed. When they reached the entryway of the door Taehyung heard a familiar voice.   
A soldiers girl dressed in black approached them. She took off her mask holding her arms out for Kai to put Logan in them, however when Logan met eyes with the girls she screamed.   
  
"No no no no please don't let her take me!"   
"Logan, it's me." Erica reached out slowly and Logan flung her body around in Kai’s arms. Taehyung was surprised he didn't drop her   
"No please no." Her screams were harsh even above the blaring alarm.   
"We don't have time for this give her to me." Erica's voice sounded almost hurt if you listened below the urgency.   
"I'll... I'll carry her." Jimin's voice was small   
Kai handed Logan over to him.   
"I could've held her the whole time, you know."   
"No, you need to go ahead of us and make sure the fans know you're okay. You two as well. So, give her to me." Erica's voice cracked   
"She just doesn't like girls." Jimin's voice was pleading. "It's because of what they did to her... whenever a girl comes near her she gets scared... I'm sorry..."   
Erica sighed "Okay, but you two” she pointed at him and Kai “have to run ahead. There's a million live broadcasts of this that need footage of you alive in order to keep up morale.”

 

For the first time since being captured it felt like Taehyung wasn't running completely on autopilot. He was fast, faster than Kai and he knew it. Outside looked like a battlefield, and he wasn't sure which side was winning. There was a giant aircraft landed outside with people motioning toward him, and he almost made it, he was almost there.

 

If it were Jimin who'd gotten hit Taehyung would've become robotic. If it were Logan he would've gone numb, if it were Erica he might have even cried, but it was Kai. Kai didn't send him on autopilot.

 

At first he didn't notice, he just directed his glance toward the scene of something the fans on the aircraft were looking at in horror. He ran over to Kai, passed out after what was apparently a hard blow to his head. Jimin and Erica stopped behind him.

“No, keep going. I'll help him.”

He picked up Kai. It was a struggle. Kai was taller than him by a few inches and mostly muscle. The fans were retreating with lots of the captives. The guards were gaining ground, and he was strong but he could barely carry Kai without falling.

 

As if by some terrible string of fate, he tripped. He saw Jimin try to leave the aircraft, but he was held back. He was grabbed in the shuffle, a little by fans, a little by guards. Another tussle another tug another black out.

 

He woke up again, in another dark room. A very dim light blinking above them, but they weren't still. He could tell they were moving. He looked over and saw with him Kai, and two more detainees and read a sign on the wall that said “Transport shipment: United States”  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


  
  
  
  
  



End file.
